The Drawing to Be Ryoma's Wife
by Lauren Eisenman
Summary: The title says all, but it's an AU where Ryoma is a prince and Sakuno is a servant who is drawn to be Ryoma's fiancee.
1. Prince Ryoma-sama

**Let me tell you something real quick.**

**First of all, this is my first time I have ever made a RyoSaku story in where it revolves that Ryoma is ACTUALLY a prince and Sakuno is a candidate to be his princess.**

**So I apologize for lack of experience or anything to do with the "Kingdom Days." I HAVE NO IDEA.**

**If I could make a greek gods story with RyoSaku, I would. Unfortunately, that would be weird. Unless you like that idea of weird.**

**ANYWAYS, here's a lousy probably on-going story!**

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**TO THOSE WHO ARE NEW.**

**Why. Hello there ;D**

**You must've came because I have a sexy cover pic right? Right? *booo***

**Naw I'm kidding.**

**Hi my name is Lauren. Thanks for peeking into your interest into medieval whatever-this-is and taking the time to read this amateur writing.**

**Wow though. There are like a million other amazing writers like me out there. FLATTERED :D**

**You may like this, you may hate this. I don't care how many reviews I get. It's the view I'm searching for. They're like stacks of monay.**

**Ohmygodwtfiswrongwithme.**

**Erm. Go ahead. Suscribe. Favorite. Like. I don't know. It counts. Less than three.**

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"Sakuno," Sumire croaked while lying tiredly in her bed, "Where did you get this bread?"

"I got it from the Shop Obaa-san."Sakuno answered, feeling guilty.

"Sakuno! You know if you get food from the Shop you will have to draw your name three more times for the drawing for the Prince's wife!"

"Gomen, Obaa-san. We needed the food badly, and now the kingdom has banned farming and illegal trading. We have nothing else."

This, was unfortunately Sakuno Ryuzaki's poor life. She lived in a small fragile wood house, which looked like it was so old it would break down if a small breeze came through. The house was set in the middle of the Seigaku Woods, so trees surrounded it and cameras hidden within the trees to spot any trouble makers. The cracked house inside looked way better than the inside. There was a long bed when you entered the house, and with a big round cushion on top, lay old Sumire Ryuzaki sick and filled with sadness while covered with huge amounts of blankets. No windows were seen, so that kept all the warmth in, kind of. The roof was Sakuno's bedroom, and a huge hole was the entrance to that room. Sakuno, with no bed, had to sleep in a little wide box filled with grass and hay she used to feed the cows, but the Seigaku Kingdom even took away those too, so Sakuno had no company but her old grandmother. Aside of the bed, was a small brick fire place where Sakuno heats up the bread or water to eat.

"Tomorrow is the drawing. I will make you a fine dress to wear if you are called. With all those trips to the Shop, I am most certain you will be called." Sumire sadly looked at her granddaughter's guilty chocolate eyes.

It was raining again, the skies filled with dark gray clouds and Sakuno pinned blankets to the roof in order to keep the water from streaming down. Even though that kept most of the water away, she put buckets to hold the water that was dripping down. That was their week's drinking water.

Sumire stuck her hand under her bed and grabbed to gold needles and fine silk. Sakuno has not known this, but Sumire was a rich seamstress before she was poor and unhealthy.

Curl one, pearl two, Sumire kept making the fine blue mini sleeveless dress for Sakuno to wear. Blue looked really well on Sakuno, especially teal. Which was exactly what this dress was designed.

The dress fitted accordingly to Sakuno's hips and breasts, making it super delicious to look at. Finally, from her great, great grandmother Sumire pulled red heels from her pillow.

"Perfect. I hope Sakuno will enjoy this," Sumire took a long and final look at her granddaughter's new outfit, before she was sent away, "Sakuno, will you come her please?"

"What it is it Grandmother? Oh my, what a beautiful dress! Shall I sell it in the Market to make some profit?" Sakuno asked, dense enough not to know that the dress was for her.

"No, Sakuno. It is for you for the drawing. The prince will not take your eyes of you my dear. Try it on." Sumire asked, wanting to see.

Sakuno looked thankfully at her grandmother. "Arigatou Grandmother, I will repay you once I become rich with the prince."

"No need, my time is almost up my dear. I just want you to be happy. That's all that matters to me."

Happy, yet sad tears swelled up at the corner of Sakuno's gleaming eyes. She nodded and took the dress. In her room, she dressed and slipped on the blue dress, taking off the braids and slipped her auburn hair to the side of her shoulders where it slung down her breasts.

Lastly, she carefully put on the red high heels and tried to keep her balance, practicing to walk in a straight line. For hours, Sakuno and her grandmother shared laughs as Sakuno tripped due to her clumsiness.

At last it was night time, where the clock has stopped and where their time almost ran out. Sakuno hugged tightly against her Grandmother, and at last fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Sakuno left early to not say her farewells to the village or her grandmother. She felt as if she will stay too long and it will cause much sadness. In her village, everyone loved Sakuno. She kept everyone happy even though the Seigaku Kingdom would tear them down. She gave food to everyone, piece by piece, even though she had none herself. She gave and gave, and no one bothered to give anything back. Which was much fine to Sakuno, she never really thought of receiving a present, she felt as if the other's needed more than she did.

Finally she arrived at the Seigaku Kingdom stone brick bridge, where a small foggy river with moss, frogs, and lily pads floated around. Once she reached the middle, Sakuno caught a glimpse of the kingdom. It was also made out of stone, two towers on each side of the castle. The opening was a big huge door that opened once the guards took of the lock. There were open windows, no glass, which surprised Sakuno a bit. A huge festival stand was set up and many girls in lovely dresses squealed around it. Sakuno figured they have probably put their names in more than her. At last the fog cleared, and the sun shined against the prince.

Sakuno made it, but she was in the back, and she can barely see anything. Girls in frilly dresses started to scream, noting Sakuno that the prince probably arrived.

Sakuno finally saw the prince. He was... cute. He was shorter than his guards, had messy dark emerald hair and had a cat like sea green eyes. He had a slight dark tone of skin, and he wore a dark red prince suit and a golden crown upon his head. He looked irritated, like he didn't want to be there.

"Today is a glorious day," King Nanjiroh loudly announced, "Today is the day where my son is to find a wife!"

The crowd of girls screamed in delight, almost deafening Ryoma's ears. "Say it brat!"

Ryoma growled at his Oyaji and clapped twice for the maids in frilly black maid suits to carry the bowl full of names. "I shall call my new fiancée."

The crowd now filled with hope, despair, confidence, and anxiety as the prince rummages through piles of skinny pieces of paper. Finally, he picked up one.

"Sakuno Ryuzaki."

Some girls sobbed quietly and the rest made a pathway to Sakuno. Ryoma widened his eyes at the dark blushing Sakuno, in a blue revealing dress, still her auburn hair slung to the side. She walked straightly and with her curves, since she did practice. Sakuno, in her case, was filled with shock and deep wonder what the prince has in store for her. The girls were angry, glaring at the frail Sakuno, snickering about why a weakling like her should be the princess.

"What a cute girl." Rinko rubbed her hand on Sakuno's bare creamy shoulders, which made Sakuno flinch a little.

"She is perfect... Ryuzaki? Where have I heard that name before?" Nanjiroh shook his head to remember.

"Whatever. I'm going back to my room." Ryoma walked away, but suddenly Rink tugged him by his collar.

"Now son, take Sakuno to your room Actually, it is not your room anymore. You will be sharing one with Ryuzaki. Besides, she is your fiancée." Rinko pointed out.

"Hurudo no," Sakuno whimpered, "I-If R-Ryoma-sama does not want to share a room, I will be happy to sleep elsewhere."

"Don't speak nonsense. You can stay in my room if you want to. Since you are sharing my life now you must become more outgoing with me." Ryoma left, with Sakuno trailing him.

"Do you think we'll ever have grandchildren?" Rinko hopelessly asked.

"I don't know. But I think that girl is very special indeed."

* * *

Ryoma's room was huge. It had obsidian walls and a red carpet, with bookshelves surrounding the room. The bed was in the top middle of the room, where a huge glass window stood. The bed was king sized, red silky covers and white fluffy pillows. Books of all sorts of kinds stuffed the bookshelves, which was Ryoma's whole knowledge.

"This is a very comfortable room Ryoma-sama." Sakuno complimented.

"Sure. My mother designed it all, so praise her." Ryoma coldly sat on his bed.

_He sure is irritated. It's my entire fault. _Sakunofelt guilty for herself.

Ryoma noticed his new fiancée's face and felt a little different. Usually, he would have wenches from left to right who would want to sleep with him once he entered the bed, but for some reason this girl was _different._

_Interesting._ Ryoma thought, trying to figure out Sakuno's seductive plan.

"I would like to get to know each other before we wed." Ryoma ordered.

"Oh! Alright then. Eto... I-I like farming and gathering. It's really fun, planting and seeds. All for the richest fruits, out of the garden!" Sakuno beamed a cute smile.

"There's no garden in the Seigaku Kingdom. Mother doesn't know how and Father hates the dirt. If you'd like, I can make one for you." Ryoma offered.

"Mou...That would be delightful. Arigatou Ryoma-sama." Sakuno thanked him.

_He's nicer to me but really mean to others... Why is that?_ Sakuno thought.

"Do you have any family?" Ryoma asked, getting deeper.

"I-I only have Obaa-san, Mother and Father left me a couple of years ago to find a better home. Funny, the next day..." Sakuno's tears swelled up and her hands began to cover her face.

"Ryu-Ryuzaki? Are you... crying?" Ryoma asked.

"Gomen Ryoma-sama," Sakuno sniffled, "I didn't mean to show this ugly sad side of me. I want to be happy for you to be happy."

Ryoma got up from the bed and handed Sakuno his blue, red, and white handkerchief, "It's fine. Show everything to me."

Sakuno kept softly crying, sneezed like a kitten a few times. She felt kind of warm on her forehead, as her skin felt like everything was changing temperatures.

Ryoma looked confused as Sakuno either shivered or had her arms spread wide open. He remembered his Mother doing that and his Father telling him his Mother was...

"Are you sick?" Ryoma felt her forehead.

"N-No way, now I would have to burden you. I'm not sick Ryoma-sama, please-..." Her eyes started spinning, and soon she fell to her knees.

"Hey wait a minute!" Ryoma saw her fell to her knees and breath heavily against his feet. He seriously didn't know what to do, so he picked her up bridal style and placed her on his... or their bed.

There she lay, sleeping soundly. _Good. She doesn't snore like Nii-san._ _Maybe I should get some ice._

Ryoma rushed out of his room and for once, retrieved something... By himself and on his own! On the way back, he saw Sakuno making herself feel comfortable against their bed. Her hair everywhere and behind her, the dress began to get to Ryoma's head.

Finally he placed the ice on her forehead, and the sun began to fade. Finally it turned dark, and Ryoma clapped his hands to signal to turn on the glowstone lights.

At last, Sakuno's eyes began to slowly open. "O-Ohayo Obaa-san."

"I'm not your grandmother." Ryoma's irritated voice woke her up, finding her changed into some silky pink pajamas.

"Since when did I-..." Sakuno flushed in imagining the moment.

"Relax, I didn't change you. The maids did. They said you look better in pink. Are you feeling okay now?" Ryoma asked.

Sakuno nodded and kissed Ryoma on the cheek. "Arigatou Ryoma-sama. You've been very kind to me."

Ryoma felt the kiss was a friendly one. That kind of sparked something. Sakuno continued to lay down, knowing her fiancée was watching out for her.


	2. The Royal Advisor

"Prince Ryoma-sama...? Ryoma-sama?" Sakuno shook her fiancée to awaken as the start of day entered through the glass window, shining a ray of light.

Sakuno popped her eyes open at the start of the sunrise, finding on her right, the one and only Prince Ryoma Echizen right beside her. She got a glimpse of his messy dark emerald hair, a peek of his face, and the corner of his closed cat eye. He slept with no noise, which pleased Sakuno because her grandmother always snored from the bottom of her cracked roof. From being in shivering cold to a small creak of warm, Sakuno tossed her side of the blanket to Ryoma, and plopped herself right out of bed.

"Nrghh." Ryoma grunted as he rubbed his eyes and slowly get up.

"Ohayo Ryoma-sama," Sakuno's calm, warming voice creeped up Ryoma's ears, "What would you like to do today?"

"I don't know. What do you usually do?" Ryoma asked.

Sakuno's head started to hurt of the yearning memories of her village. "I play with the children of the village, making candy and-..."

"Candy?" Ryoma interrupted, sounding like he never heard of it before.

"Mmhmm," Sakuno nodded, "A quite delicious treat."

"Can... you make me some?" Ryoma asked innocently.

Sakuno hesitated, thinking about how this, this situation of making him stuff, was her whole entire life now. And she had no say in it what's so ever.

"Hai, hai. However, my Obaa-san always makes them the best. It's her recipe, but unfortunately I left her recipe at the house." Sakuno sadly said, as she started worrying about her grandmother once again.

"What's wrong with your grandmother again?" Ryoma asked.

"She's terribly sick. It started out with the flu, but now her body aches every time she gets up. That's where I come in, helping the village and trying to cure her with herbs." Sakuno joined her hands, finger in finger.

Ryoma fell silent. He didn't know how to exactly talk with her or better yet agree. All his royal life he lived in the top. Never had to do exactly anything but pass laws or reject them. He didn't even know his city was poorer than ever. Ryoma Echizen felt... _like an idiot_.

"Uh, hey. Do you mind, showing me your village? I'd like to learn." Ryoma asked, but sounded sort of like an order.

Sakuno tilted her head in a cute way at her new fiancée. She blushed and felt embarrassed, and thought as if Prince Ryoma cared.

"Hai, but first... I need to change." Sakuno flustered even more, but turned her head down for Ryoma not to see.

At first, Ryoma didn't realize of what his fiancée just said. He always assumed that girls would have no trouble taking of their clothes for the prince. Maybe...

_Is this her seductive plan?_ Ryoma curiously thought.

Sakuno waited furiously and thought that Ryoma would stay to see her change. It was awkward; Sakuno was playing with her fingers as Ryoma looked at the side, scratching his emerald hair.

"E-Eto... A-Are you going to leave?" Sakuno finally asked.

"Only if you want me too."

Sakuno was totally confused now. Ryoma was trying to help with Sakuno's seductive plan so he could figure out the true her. There was no way, a regular girl would spend the night with the prince and not touch him.

"Y-Yes! I-I do!" Sakuno answered, pointing at the door.

Ryoma at first felt this feeling. The feeling in his head where he wanted to go all out, and yet, he'd never had this feeling before.

"You can't tell me what to do." Ryoma blurted, wanting to know what Sakuno's reaction was.

"F-Fine. I'll dress in the bathroom... I wonder what to wear."

"The maids left you something over there on the bed." Ryoma pointed at the bright dress.

It was a clear yellow dress, a sundress that is. She loved it, since it was her mother's favorite color. Weird, this type of yellow was bright and warm. Just like Sakuno.

"It's so pretty," Sakuno smiled warmly at the dress, "Was this your suggestion?"

"No, of course I would've been okay with you just wearing anything." Ryoma pouted and muttered something about "a red much sexier dress."

Sakuno chuckled once again. "You're so funny."

...

"Onee-san! Onee-san!" Two cute small kids who wore torn up clothes ran up to Sakuno with open arms.

"Sakura-chan, Hiro-chan. How are my favorite kids doing?" Sakuno rubbed their dirty and dried muddy faces.

"We sort of gotten in a fight would the rich kids. But its okay, we're okay." Hiro coughed.

"They said that we were going to move far away so they can build a better looking village here. Hiro-kun and I tried to argue saying this village is a family." Sakura explained.

Shattered houses made noises again as the dark breeze came by, the clouds never seemed to disappear here and everything was just horrible. Trees were scattered, torn up houses with small porches could barely stand up, but luckily a small school in the middle of all of this was still in good condition.

"Don't listen to them," Sakuno calmed them down with her soft voice, "Pity them. They probably don't have a huge warming family like us."

Ryoma stood and listened in on the conversation. He didn't know kids were starving or rich kids were taking over property. The thought of that sort of made him angry and blank.

"Who's this? Is this your fiancée? Is everything Obaa-san said true?" Sakura pointed at the well dressed Ryoma. He sure stood out. People were starting to stare.

"Eto... This is Prince Ryoma Echizen, soon to be king of the Seigaku Kingdom." Sakuno introduced.

"Hey."

"No way! I thought you promised Nii-san you would marry him!" Hiro pouted.

"Nii-san?" The way Ryoma called his name was cold.

"A-Ano, Hiro-chan. Nii-san and I are forever done." Sakuno sadly answered.

"But Nii-san waited for you! Nii-san loved you!" Hiro argued and started to have tears in his dark blue eyes.

"I know, I know. I loved him too."

_That_ really pierced through Ryoma's back and to his heart. The sharp pain in his chest told him to argue, but he knew that wasn't him. That wasn't his image.

"Shut up Hiro! Nii-san broke Nee-san's heart a long time ago remember! Besides, this one is probably going to be a good Otto." Sakura smiled brightly at Ryoma.

"So, where's your grandmother?" Ryoma changed the subject.

Sakuno and the other's faces turned dark. The kids silently turned and led them the way to that crooked blue house at the end with the messed up roof Sakuno always tried to fix.

They walked up the hill and Sakuno slowly turned the knob around and pushed the door forward. The creaking sound was loud, screeching and scratching the ground below it.

"Obaa-san?" Sakuno's small voice called.

"Sakuno?" Sumire faintly called back, followed by a wheezing cough.

"Obaa-san! I am so happy you've been strong. Anyways, this is Prince Ryoma Echizen." Sakuno introduced.

"The prince himself... Oh, that brings so much memories when I was your father's royal advisor." Sumire revealed.

"Royal advisor? You're historical. Oyaji talks about you all the time." Ryoma answered, surprised.

"Yes, yes," Sumire sighed in remembrance, "I made your father a quite good leader."

"What made you stop?"

"You were born my prince." Sumire made it like it was all his fault.

* * *

**Hi!**

**Wow, twelve reviewers in one chapter? HOLY SH-...**

***ahem* Anyways, to celebrate I am going to make a collection of oneshots dedicated to RyoSaku with other authors. It'll be good I promise.**

**You guys helped me with the "medieval days" a lot. Thanks**


	3. I Don't Hate You

**Hey guys, no long time see!**

**I know, I know, go ahead and hate me now because I haven't updated for a while and left you guys with a confusing ending. I am not going to say my next update will be the next day, but I promise you a updated stories by _December._ That's my month where I write THE best stories your eyes have ever crossed among my other stories that is. On this particular story though, I do a lot of research on the medieval days and try to be as real as possible. Enjoy :P**

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"Obaa-san, don't walk too fast. You'll ending up cracking your back really badly!" Sakuno worryingly aided Sumire's side.

Ryoma, Sakuno, Sumire, Hiro and Sakura were going back to the Seigaku kingdom, mainly for the reason of Ryoma trying to figure out why his father would kick out the peak of his perfection. Otherwise, they had a doctor that could hopefully cure Sakuno's grandmother's disease. Hiro and Sakura came because Sakuno suggested it dearly and openly to Ryoma… and he had no choice but to agree to that bright smile of hers.

"Sakuno, I don't know what you're talking about. I feel very alive again just like the old days, where I was courted by many, many-…"

"Grandmother, please stop talking about your long love life!" Sakuno turned into a deep blush of red while staring at the ground.

After that, it was an awkward ride back to the kingdom. Hiro and Sakura were fascinated by the ponds and the types of koi fish who were splashing around. Once they reached the bridge, they met Ryoma's royal guards: Kunimitsu Tezuka, Shusuke Fuji, Shuichiro Oishi, Kikumaru Eiji, Takashi Kawamura, Sadaharu Inui, Kaoru Kaidoh, and Takeshi Momoshiro. They were all aligned and straight-faced, waiting for the prince to come back. They all wore a white buttoned- up shirt white covered by a red long coat and a blue sash, a regular Seigaku guard's uniform. Once they arrived back, Takeshi came forward and opened the door for them to come out.

"Great job Echizen. You came later than what the old man expected you to." Guard Takeshi jokingly scolded the prince, and made fun of his curfew.

"That is the _least_ thought that bowled through my mind. Look who I brought back." Ryoma introduced Sumire with a wave of his hand.

The second year guards' faces were filled with confusion while the third years' eyes widened with shock. It was the old royal advisor, Sumire Ryuzaki.

"General Kunimitsu, glad you're still here. Shusuke, Shuichiro, and Kikumaru! How are you boys?" Sumire greeted them with a wrinkly old smile.

"Hey advisor Sumire, nice to see you here on these grounds again." Shuichiro smiled back.

"Hey Obaa-san, how are you? You look… great!" Kikumaru gave her two thumbs up.

"General? You're quieter than you used to be." Sumire looked up at Kunimitsu.

"Good to see you back." Kunimitsu's words were short.

They all went back in the castle, with the wooden doors slowly closing as the sun sets to clear the day.

* * *

"Ryoma, you're back from your trip to the village! How was your-…?" Rinko dropped her wine glass that spilled grape wine on the floor below the throne.

"Advisor Ryuzaki? What in the world are you doing here you old bag?!" Nanjiroh exclaimed.

"I brought her here. She's sick and the least you can do since she saved the kingdom is take care of her." Ryoma narrowed his eyes at his parents.

The throne room grew silent as the guards and the children took a step back away from Sakuno, Sumire, and the angered Ryoma. The three were standing on a red silky carpet that led to the king and queen's golden throne higher up the steps. Obsidian walls surrounded them with small windows every corner.

"O-Of course we can Ryoma! It is the _least_ we can do… Right, Nanjiroh?" Rink sweetly smiled at her son while angrily nudging the king as he yelped.

"Ouch! Yes, we can surely do that." Nanjiroh scowled.

"Nanjiroh, how is the weasel who never knew how to run his own kingdom? And you finally got a woman who was willing to marry you and bear you a son!" Sumire smirked at her pupil.

"I wish I could say the same to you old bag. How have _you_ been?" Nanjiroh evilly grinned.

As they began to argue jokingly, Sakuno and Ryoma awkwardly listened to her Obaa-san and his Oyaji bicker about useless things like:

"You never taught me how to pay these types of things!"

"That's because you were to stubborn to even bother!"

"You kicked out my dog!"

"It was marking its territory everywhere!"

"Eto, King Nanjiroh-sama, Obaa-san, I think that's quite enough." Sakuno tried to calm down the two.

"Yeah, I think it's time to head to bed. I'm already tired just listening to you two run your mouths." Ryoma scratched the back of his head and rolled his eyes.

"I think these two are right. Come on Nanjiroh, let's go to sleep already." Rinko nudged him again.

"Fine, fine. The old bag will sleep in one of the guest rooms. General Kunimitsu, lead her there. The two children can have their own room if they want." Nanjiroh ordered.

As told, Kunimitsu led Sumire and the children to their rooms and to a door on the left, leaving Sakuno's side. As for the rest of them, they went back to their rooms and dorms to leave the awkward fight.

Ryoma walked back and Sakuno trailed him slowly and reached his side. "Ar-Arigatou, Ryoma-sama. You are the nicest boy I've ever met."

"Who's _Nii-san_?" Ryoma didn't look at her but sounded cold.

Sakuno's back became stiff. "Ah, do I have to answer that?"

"Yes."

Sakuno was at a loss. After a moment of silence, she sighed and answered, "He was a boy, a hunter that I met before I met you."

"Did you love him?"

Sakuno choked up. "As you know, I did. But that was in the past Ryoma-sama, it's not like I still love him now. I am growing to l-love y-you."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Ryoma snapped back.

Sakuno felt hurt when Ryoma interrupted coldly. She never seen this side of him before, and she was starting to think the prince regretted picking her as his fiancée.

"D-Do you… dislike me Ryoma-sama?" Sakuno blurted.

Ryoma kicked himself in his mind and didn't answer for a moment. He made her sad and he made her think he _hated_ the girl. Then, while having a distraught monologue in his mind, he bumped into a wall.

"Ryo-Ryoma-sama! Are you alright?" Sakuno aided his side.

"I'm fine," Ryoma helped himself up as Sakuno still held onto his arm. "Just wasn't paying attention."

"Gomen ne Ryoma-sama. I didn't mean for you to think about the answer, I should've known you hated me from the-…"

"I don't hate you." Ryoma finally answered.

While letting go of his arm shocked, Ryoma continued on to their room while Sakuno stood. She was happy that he doesn't hate her. She smiled at him while he bickered to himself about clumsiness spreading.

Sakuno walked the other way to go visit her grandmother one last time when she bumped into Ryoma's mother, Rinko.

"Ah! Gomen nasai, Queen Rinko-sama! I didn't mean to-!"

"It's alright Sakuno-chan. I'm alright." Rinko calmed down the apologizing girl.

"Sorry." Sakuno said it a final time.

"Why are you walking through the halls so late? You should be having a rest since you had such a busy day." Rinko asked.

"I just wanted to visit Obaa-san. I wanted to know if she was alright." Sakuno answered.

"Ah, Sakuno… This is the wrong way though." Rinko looked hopelessly at the no direction Sakuno.

"Oh! Now I'm going the wrong way. I'm sorry… Again." Sakuno apologized for her lack of direction.

"Such a sweet girl, but she's alright. Don't worry, I just checked on her a few minutes ago. Since you're out, why don't we have a talk in the kitchen?" Rink guided Sakuno to an automatic door.

The kitchen was not the huge, yet large for everything to be in place. A wooden table stood in the middle of the room as the obsidian walls and granite tiles as floors stayed. Furnaces were everywhere as much as sinks, with drawers and cabinets with plates and silverware from everywhere. Above the wooden table, hung a huge scented lit candle that brightly lightened up the room. Near the table, were two stools. Sakuno took her seat as Rinko took hers, and together they both ate biscuits and drank herbal tea while having a small conversation.

"What do you think of my son Sakuno?" Rinko asked Sakuno, hoping for an _honest_ answer.

Sakuno hesitated. "I think him as a pomegranate. He's cold and hard on the outside but inside he's really sweet and considerate of others."

"That's really creative and thoughtful of you Sakuno. To be honest with you, I think you're the most wonderful girl I've met. Pretty and beautiful too." Rinko complimented.

Sakuno blushed with flattery. "Arigatou. Coming from you, that's really huge."

"Don't think of me as a queen anymore Sakuno. Soon we will become family, so call me Mother okay?" Rinko asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Sakuno smiled cutely.

"You know here at the kingdom, the queen is in charge of the people and to be the mother of all people right? I have been watching you specifically Sakuno." Rinko took a sip of her tea.

"Wa-Watching me?" Sakuno asked.

Rinko nodded. "Yes, you tend to shop a lot for your grandmother."

"That's because the laws intended there shall be no farming for ourselves." Sakuno remembered.

"Sakuno, I just want you to know I am very sorry. These are not the kingdom's laws. Trust me when I say this, but Nanjiroh and I are not the ones who _truly_ run these grounds." Rinko sadly looked at her tea.

Sakuno shockingly gasped. "If you are not the one who made those laws, or rules these lands. Then… who does?"

"The one those little ones _used_ to call _Nii-san._"


	4. Nii-san Is

**Hey guise~**

**Well I told I'll be back by December. Happy belated Christmas my precious readers~~~ *and happy birthday ryoma-sama***

**Anyways, can someone please explain to me how people manage to still read my stories even though it's old? Like seriously, I suddenly am a favorite writer in a couple of readers a month after I updated. It's amazingly crazy how you guys still follow me even though I haven't updated lately. But seriously, is one of my stories on a community or do readers recommend me or something? It's just like rocket science to me. JK.**

**Okay, so this is in Ryuzaki's point of view this time. I know you guys like that third person view probably but I wanted to try something different. Another note, stop asking me who Nii-san is. It's not that it's annoying to me, it's just hilarious how you guys are really eager to know. That means that I finally perfected the meaning of a "mystery story." But yeah, Nii-san is a little revealed in this story, and no, it's not an OC.**

Thanks for reading!

* * *

Sakuno Ryuzaki's Point of View:

The sound of bird chirping by Ryoma-sama's white crescendo window peeked into my ears as my eyes slowly rose to an open. Ryoma-sama, still asleep and by my side, sleeps softly and quiet so I try my absolute best to creep off the bed making any noises. Once I swung my feet to the soft ground, I stretched my arms up high. After I yawned, I turned around to face the snowy front of the kingdom. Everything outside was practically covered in pounds of snow. After gazing at miles and miles of the snow covered forest, I gathered myself and walked out the wooden doors.

As I walked through the quiet but bright and warm hallway to the kitchen, I thought hard about my conversation with Rinko-sama last night. I remembered the hatred she put in the word _Nii-san._ She explained to me how the Seigaku kingdom was fighting other kingdoms in order to become the National Kingdom, and the kingdom my Nii-san was in is the National Kingdom before. Rinko-sama explained to me that he came here to spy on us and met me instead. After that, Rinko-sama thanked me from keeping him to spy on the kingdom. Although I did a good deed for the kingdom, how come I feel hatred for this kingdom? I must grow to love it since I am growing the mysterious Ryoma-sama.

Also, Rinko-sama mention that Ryoma-sama is very distant from everyone and I have to get to know the real him before counting him as the "nice" one. Rinko-sama also informed me all the women he used to fool around with before he met me, and that's why he was supposed to have a bride.

I thought hard about why I was alive. Am I alive to serve the kingdom that I hated for years and now it's not really the kingdom I am supposed to hate? Am I alive to be a blockade for Ryoma-sama's women-hunting? The thought of that made me cry, so I changed the subject.

As I had a long monologue in my mind, my shoulder was touched. When I tried to scream, a hand cupped my hand. I turned around, finding it was just Ryoma-sama.

"Be quiet," He scolded me with a hush tone. "Do you want to get us in trouble?"

I shook my head no, as no words came out. After that, he let go of me, and together we walked to the kitchen.

* * *

After that, Ryoma-sama and I took a seat on the table of the dining room. The dining room was nice, and a cute fireplace on the side. The room had no windows, but the décor looked like it didn't need windows at all. The red carpet remained, and the low dark brown wooden long table stood above it. Moments later, maids and waiters came out with trays on their hands and teapots all set up near the white china plates and utensils. Regular tea was poured into my dark green cup and so was Ryoma-sama's. In the trays, the waiter lifted the covering to reveal it was pancakes. I have never had these in quite a while, but I first tried it when I was little. Syrup was slowly poured onto the butter, and the butter and the syrup slid down through the circular perfectly burnt pancakes. The aroma of the sweet smell filled the dining room, and my stomach was already growling.

"Go ahead and eat. You don't have to stare at it all day." Ryoma-sama ordered.

"Ah, hai." I nodded and began eating, filling my mouth with the salty but sweet taste.

As we began eating, silence filled between us. "E-Eto… Ryoma-sama?"

"Hn?"

"What do you want for Christmas?" I blurted out, not even thinking.

"What's that?" Ryoma-sama looked at me with confusion.

I couldn't believe what I heard. The prince of the land doesn't even know the holiday it celebrates? "You know. Christmas, a time of giving presents."

"Never heard of it. Probably a waste of time." Ryoma continued eating.

"Ryoma-sama… Did you ever have a childhood?" I asked, feeling very pitiful towards the cold prince.

"Who needs a childhood? It's time to grow up and get ready to become something what people see as my father's son. I need to be able to perfect the kingdom and help it rise to the Nationals." Ryoma clearly said.

"But what about enjoying the adventure getting there? It's not all about the destination." I counterattacked with my heart.

"The kingdom is my life, stay out of it." The cold prince glared at me and left the table.

"Ryoma-sama…" I felt really hurt by his words.

I never knew this side of Ryoma-sama before. I guess Rinko-sama was right, don't judge a book by its cover. Even though Ryoma-sama was really nice to me before… I think that's only because his parents put him up to it. It's not like he's willing to spend time alone with me.

Tears started to stream down my face as I thought of how my life was always going to be like this from now on. I started to feel a deep sense of homesickness; with the children at the village, Obaa-san, and Nii-san… Nii-san, how I won't be able to see his warm smile daily. I remember how we first met:

* * *

"_Sayonara, Obaa-san. I'm going to go hunting." I said my goodbyes to Obaa-san. I put on my dark brown leather jacket over my navy blue tank top. After that I put my hiking boots on and fixed my baggy pants accordingly to the boots._

"_Sakuno-chan… I hate it when you go hunting for my sake. Please don't get yourself in any trouble." Obaa-san warned me._

_I smiled at her worries. I was glad that she worried about my life's sake but I had to do this… for the village._

"_Hai, hai." I waved as I closed the creaky wooden door._

_Outside my house, the village was once again slow and cold. The cold cloudy weather was still the same and everyone looked miserable. The children tried to keep the small bit of happiness up by playing with a plastic bag blown up like a ball and throwing it up in air. I frowned upon what the kingdom has done to this once a happy family, taking away hunting. Since then, I have doing my hunting illegally._

_I walked down the porch and walked across the damp dirt to the children. I patted each head and gave them a little piece of bread. I love seeing them smile as much as I need the bread, but that was alright. Their parents always smiled at me too, telling me that I am the only blessing that keeps the whole village going. _

"_Sakuno-chan… Have you met Nii-san yet?" One of the old ladies who sat on the porch rocking chair asked me._

"_Nii-san? Who's that?" I asked curiously._

"_He's a new boy your age that refused to give us his name but offered to call him Nii-san instead. He's very handsome and fitting for you." The other old lady beside her chuckled._

_A small blush crept up my face. "Fi-Fitting for me?"_

"_Oi, Obaa-san. Talking about me again? You know I'll get sick from all this sneezing." A bold young voice exploded behind me._

_Behind me, a young man with sea green hair and gleaming eyes smirked at me. I blushed horribly on how handsome he was, and hid my face by staring at the ground._

"_Sorry Nii-san. Oh! Nii-san, this is Sakuno Ryuzaki. Our village hunter." She introduced me as I looked at him._

"_Konichiwa Ryuzaki-san." He smiled at me with that calming voice._

"_Ko-Konichiwa Nii-san." I stammered._

"_Are you going hunting?" Nii-san asked me curiously,_

_I nodded and offered him an extra bow that I had behind my back. "D-Do yo-you wa-want to hunt wi-with me?"_

_For a while, he looked like he thought I was ridiculous that a little kid like me would go hunting with him but… Instead he smiled and took the bow willingly. "Why not?"_

* * *

"_Caught one!" I excitedly jumped up as I put the caught one in the bag._

(A/N: I am not going to go gross on you guys and say "deer's bloody head" or "dead bunny." It's very disgusting and does not explain the mystery and the romance of the story. Continue on)

"_You're very good at his stuff. Do you do this often?" Nii-san asked._

_I nodded. "Ever since the kingdom cut off trading and farming, this is all I could do to provide food for our village."_

"_That kingdom seems to piss you off doesn't it?" _

"_I never really thought of it that way. Hating the kingdom doesn't seem natural. Even though they haven't done anything to provide us doesn't mean they practically killed us. I still have my surviving skills." I explained my answer._

_The forest turned quiet around us as Nii-san began making a small fire. It was getting late, and I still haven't gathered enough food yet. Since there was a creek nearby, I decided to go get fish instead._

"_You seem to get really angry when it comes to the kingdom. Why is that?" I asked him about earlier._

"_Why can't I be mad? That stupid kingdom just ruins every single bright light in this village. Who knows? They might even ban children from breathing." He joked._

_I laughed. "That can't be the only thing."_

"_They're also competition. More competition means I can't be-…" _

"_Can't be what?" I interrupted._

"_Ne-Nevermind. Caught any fish?" He changed the subject._

_All of a sudden, I noticed the net got stuck on my boot. I tugged hard and harder, but couldn't get it out. Just great, look how pathetic I must look._

_Once I gave it a final tug, a cut from a branch scratched me hard the net let go. My lower leg now had a small bloody gash._

"_You're hurt." He ran to my aid. _

"_Gomen nasai Nii-san. I didn't mean to cause you trouble." I apologized for my clumsiness._

"_It's fine, all that matters to me is if you're hurt. Here," He tore off his part of his shirt near the arm area which revealed big tan muscles._

_I blushed as he revealed that part. He dipped the cloth in creek and washed my leg, and as he rubs off the leg it burned. After that he dried it and wrapped it around my leg to stop the bleeding._

"_That should do it." He smiled at his work and offered a hand to help me get up._

_Once I grabbed it, I tried to keep my balance but fell forward and toppled over him. Our eyes met as my heart began pounding._

* * *

"Sakuno-chan?" My memory stopped as soon as I heard Rinko-sama's voice.

"Ohayo Rinko-sama, how are you?" I greeted as normally as I could.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Rinko-sama felt my forehead.

"I-I'm okay! Nothing's the matter." I smiled at her.

"Alright. By the way, do you have any idea what to get for Ryoma's birthday?" Rinko-sama added.

"Bir-Birthday? When is that?" I excitedly asked.

"December 24th." Rinko-sama answered.

"The day before Christmas… Ryoma-sama's birthday is on Christmas Eve!" I gasped.


	5. Extra! Before we met

"Oi, brat. Wake up and smell the roses today your mother has hosted a New Year's Eve ball for the whole kingdom to dance. This is a time where you could find that princess of yours." Nanjiroh threw a pillow at his son to wake him up.

"Baka Oyaji. Who cares about women and men dancing in a ball to celebrate a new year?" His son growled and turned around to face away from his father the king.

His king grew irritated how his son was reckless and lazy. He hated how he didn't realize how important it means to take over the Seigaku Kingdom and once again become the National Kingdom. With one pail of water, he poured it on his son and Ryoma fell off the bed.

"What the hell was that?!" Ryoma irritatingly asked.

"Get up in five minutes. People are waiting." Nanjiroh walked out with a pail dangling on his palm.

"Now I'm wet."

…

Since it was the summer solstice, the sun finally came out of those dark clouds that stayed over the village for a while. It was utterly beautiful as the sunny light shined above the village, revealing its natural beauty.

"Sakuno! Sakuno! Where are you?!" Sumire shouted through the house.

"Tadaima, I'm back from hunting with Nii-san." Sakuno unlocked the door and entered inside.

"My favorite granddaughter. Tell me your day with that wonderful Nii-san you've been talking about." Sumire took a sip from her tea cup as she smiled at her beautiful granddaughter.

Sakuno covered the closed gash with her long pants. "It was absolutely wonderful! We and the kids dashed through the meadows in the woods and Nii-san taught us all to make bread! He is the sweetest boy I have ever met. Obaa-san, do you think… he likes me?" Sakuno talked fast.

"It seems so, since you are gaga over this boy aren't you?" Sumire chuckled with laughter.

A small golden envelope slipped under the old wooden door and under Sakuno's boots. With a gasp, she picked up the fragile envelope and tore it perfectly apart. A small lacy note fell out, stating these words:

_Dear villager,_

_As they idea may delight you, I am hosting a New Year's Ball at the Seigaku kingdom with free partying all night long. Snacks are provided and unlimited, and everyone must be masked. Inside this envelope is a mask provided for the youngest daughter/son/granddaughter/grandson etc. Wear it to the ball and none will suspect you at all._

_Seigaku Kingdom_

"I'm not going." Sakuno's words were straight-forward.

"Why not? It's a great opportunity and there is food! The whole village will come so you won't have to hunt for tonight! Granddaughter, this is your chance to relax!" Sumire tried to persuade Sakuno.

"There's no way. It's suspicious and stupid, why are they doing this now? Why not earlier when we were starving?! This kingdom is full of idiots and gold diggers!" Sakuno raised her voice and then cupped her mouth.

"Sakuno… How did you get so angry at the kingdom? You never hated them before Nii-san arrived." Sumire questioned Sakuno with Nii-san's prescience.

"Thanks to Nii-san, I now realize how stupid the kingdom is. I'm not going." Sakuno stomped up to her room.

"I guess the old wedding dress would have to change her mind."

…

The scene turned to a nice fitting room. It was white with gold stripes following the outlines of every piece of furniture in there. Prince Ryoma, standing on a stool while looking at him in the long mirror, was being fitted into his ball suit with his mother directing it. The sun brightened the whole room but the atmosphere was dark.

"Tighter, tighter! My son must be perfect in his-… I mean the New Year's Ball." Rinko chuckled innocently. For the ball Rinko wore a beautiful long silky emerald dress. Her hair was in a high bun while she tortured Ryoma in his ball suit.

"I feel as if this ball was for me to find a bride Mother." Ryoma growled at his mother while the maids tightened his black suit.

"It's not! This is a ball where the whole kingdom comes together and haves some cake to celebrate a whole new year." Rinko smiled.

"Uh-huh." Ryoma looked back at himself in the long mirror looking like an idiot.

"Ryoma… You know you're father is getting old. You must bring the Seigaku kingdom to victory." Rinko rubbed her son's shoulder.

"Please don't tell me I am the pillar of Seigaku. Over a sword practice General Tezuka told me I needed to become that." Ryoma grumpily said.

"He's right." Rinko left the fitting room.

"A little too tight?" One of the maids asked.

…

Up in her room, Sakuno began looking at the mask intently. She hated the mask and wanted to spit in it, but Obaa-san was right. With a sudden wake in her mind, a flashback appeared on when Nii-san asked if she despised the kingdom and she clearly said no. After she woke after that, she began to question why she started hating the kingdom too. Her legs were held against her body as she began to sit on her small wooden bed on the roof.

"Sakuno… Are you still up there?" Sumire began climbing up the stairs very slowly.

"Obaa-san, I'm really sorry I snapped at you. I don't know, I guess I got over myself." Sakuno helped Sumire climb up as she apologized.

"It's okay my favorite magomusume. You know what you can do to cheer me up?" Sumire held up a long light blue dress with silky ends and lacy arms.

"I told you I wasn't going." Sakuno chuckled, thinking her grandmother was joking.

"Oh come on Sakuno, today's the day where you are yourself. Who knows? Maybe Nii-san will be there." Sumire coaxed her granddaughter.

"Nii-san?!" Sakuno blushed with thoughts of Nii-san courting her to the dance and ending the scene with a dramatic kiss.

"Oi, don't get too over yourself Sa-chan. Now come on, get ready." Sumire went back downstairs with a smug look on her face and the dress out of her hands.

"Wah, if Nii-san was there we could both steal food together and then the whole village would be set! I'm going to that ball then." Sakuno picked up the dress in front of her face.

The dress was recognized by her immediately; it was her Mother's wedding dress. Slightly smiling, she gazed at the beautiful dress as she began reminiscing her mother and father.

"_Sakuno, do you remember what we always told you?" Mother smiled at her young daughter with those gleaming brown eyes._

"_Never judge a book by their cover?" Sakuno guessed._

"_Yeah, and you know your Mother and I stuck to that motto for years. It guided us through love and hate at the same time, and I hope that you'll use it too." Father smiled_

Sakuno stopped. _Never judge a book by its cover..._

…

"Introducing, the Prince of Seigaku, Ryoma Echizen!" The butler with a huge mustache introduced the irritated Ryoma while he was on a chair, looking very unhappy.

The masked girls from other villages behind the butler began squealing loud as if he was this century's Justin Bieber. The princesses from the other small kingdoms of Seigaku were faint, but eager to meet the prince. The ball room was huge with white with gold striped pillars. The floor was white granite tiled, and curtains were closed over the window. A huge indoor porch was placed on the side where Rinko and Nanjiroh sat, intently watching their son. Another maid (who was not really a maid but cleaned and cooked exclusively for the Echizens even if she is one) Nanako stood aside of them smiling.

As each princess bowed down to the prince, Ryoma just said a normal hello as if anyone would. Nanjiroh grew more impatient.

"That brat is not even reacting to any of them! Nanako, tell the guards to bring him more girls! This night will not end until he found his girl!" Nanjiroh ordered.

"King Nanjiroh, pardon me, but I think this is quite a fairytale don't you think?" Nanako pointed out.

"What do you mean by that?" Rinko asked curiously.

"You see, Ryoma will find his girl, but not this way. A girl will be utterly late and dash through the ball room wondering what to do. Then, Ryoma will spot the young girl and she will reel him in with curiosity and beauty. That girl will stand out through all the young girls here. Watch." Nanako pointed at the prince.

"Konichiwa Ryoma-sama." Two girls with a great hour glass figure bowed down to the prince and looked at him with want in their eyes, but mostly money.

Ryoma rolled his eyes as the gold diggers bowed down. "Hey."

The girls shot straight up with disappointment and mumbled about getting him later. As Ryoma sighed with bore, at the corner of his eyes a girl. The girl in a blue dress and a black mask stood out in the crowd of dashing yellow, sexy and fiery red, or black. Ryoma stood up and still stared at the lost girl.

"Oi, Momo-senpai." Ryoma whispered to his main guard.

"Don't call me that Echizen. I'm your guard remember, baka!" Guard Momo on Ryoma's left whispered back.

"Who's that?" Ryoma asked, ignoring Momo's remark.

"I don't know, not one of those princesses. A villager I think." Momo squinted his eyes to see.

"Tell the butler to announce the masked dance, I'll be right back." Ryoma ran towards Sakuno's direction.

As soon as he reached her, Sakuno looked amazing in the front view. Her auburn hair was down and flowed to her bottom. Ryoma was absolutely stunned, but didn't know what to say.

…

Sakuno could not believe it. _It's Nii-san… but wasn't he taller?_

"Ko-Ko-Konichiwa." Sakuno stammered as her face turned red. He was sure handsome, in navy blue and a dark green mask.

"…" Ryoma still stayed silent.

The butler announced the masked dance, and soon everyone was dancing except them. Sakuno felt awkward as Nii-san _still_ said nothing.

"Ca-Care to dance?" Sakuno asked, nervous.

Saying nothing, the prince nodded as he took her hand and her hand reached his shoulder. Along with the rhythm of the slow orchestra music, they danced their way all around the kingdom ball room.

"Nanako… You're completely right…" Rinko stared, stunned in awe.

"I know. Do you still want me to summon more girls?" Nanako asked.

"No, no. Nanako my niece you have done enough." Nanjiroh was also in awe.

Dancing slowly was the way they practically talked to each other. It was awkward, but it was romantic. Their eyes glued to one another, but there was one problem. Sakuno thought Ryoma was Nii-san and Ryoma did not know who this stunning girl was.

With a skip of a heartbeat, Ryoma leaned in for a kiss. Their kiss should've been long but the clock struck twelve and the party ended.

"I've got to go, see you later!" Sakuno ran away with a tomato face and left Ryoma confused.


	6. Goodbye Ryoma-sama

**Hello there...**

**This one might be short, but hey! I'm back!**

**This chapter is sparking and you might hate what's going on but it might spark interests.**

**I have actually nothing to say but**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

"Just my luck," Ran started falling as soon as I took my first step outside my grandmother's old house. I took every single thing we treasured in that house and put it in boxes that stood outside on the porch. Out of my luck, the carriage was supposed to come later and it started raining.

I racked my brain to think if I had anything else to do so I wouldn't waste any time. After a long time, I remembered something very important that I needed to do. I wanted to cook Ryoma-sama dinner tonight, since all of the adults in the kingdom are going to the Nationals Awareness Meeting.

I ran towards our neighbor, Hiro-chan and Sakura-chan living with their parents. There house was very far, and I ended up running through the rain and through a bunch of muddy puddles.

Suddenly, a branch caught my leg and I slipped on the ground, causing my red and white blouse and white skirt to be muddy. Once I tried to stand up, I fell down to the pain in my right ankle. When I turned it, it was red, blue and bruised and I could no longer stand up.

I hugged my legs on the muddy ground as the rain poured harder against my skin. It made my whole body damp with water, and my ankle did not heal towards the time. It was getting awfully late too. I cried a little at the disappointment and regret that I couldn't be able to cook that dinner for Ryoma-sama, and the fact that I didn't apologize for pushing his birthday towards him so much.

Truth is, I really wanted to see Ryoma-sama a little. I haven't seen him much since our little argument, and every time I saw him he was always trying to avoid me. It made me think he hated me, and that he didn't want to see me again.

For minutes, I stayed there soaking wet and broken. All of a sudden, a carriage rammed through right past me. Stopping abruptly, a dark emerald hair boy in a dark blue prince outfit ran out and aided to my side. Getting dizzy, I made it clear that it was… Nii-san?

* * *

"_Hey, do you remember our promise that no matter what you'll be my wife?" Nii-san smiled at me, hoping I would remember._

"_Yeah, definitely remember that." I nodded, sitting next to him while fishing alongside him._

"_You know I'm serious." Nii-san chuckled._

"_I know, and I'm serious about you too." My face flushed as his face became closer and closer to me._

"_Will you wait for me? Would you wait for me forever?" Nii-san asked worryingly._

"_Why? You're not leaving right?"_

"Oi, are you awake?" A familiar voice crept up to my ears.

"Nii-san…?" I guessed, opening my eyes.

To my surprise, it was Ryoma-sama! I stood straight up right away, flustered. "Wha-?! How?! Huh?!"

"Baka, I saw you sleeping on the mud when it was raining." Ryoma sounded really irritated.

I was in a living room, and a towel and a whole bunch of blankets surrounded me as we stood next to the fire. Right in front of me, there was a whole setup of a small dinner.

"Ryo-Ryoma-sama… Di-Did you make th-…?"

"Just eat it, you're still cold. I'll be right back." Ryoma got up and almost left.

"Wa-… Ryo-Ryoma!" I shouted after him.

He turned around in shock that I called him by his name without the –sama part. I was flushed on saying it, but I didn't want him to leave.

"Yeah?" He looked at me with confusion.

"Gomen nasai Ryoma… I-I didn't mean to cause you anger, or worry. I didn't mean to… I didn't mean to…" I started tearing up again.

He came to my side again and this time, he pulled me up and hugged me really tight. My tears were still streaming, but I was so shocked that Ryoma was so straightforward this way.

"I should be the one saying sorry."

We pulled away from the hug and our faces were close to each other. His eyes were melting inside me, causing me to give in

to his further actions. He leaned closer, and I began to close my eyes. With that, we closed in with a kiss.

His lips were warm towards my cold ones, but the kiss felt really good that way. It began to turn longer, as hebegan to give light kisses to dry up my tears... I thought of my first kiss with Nii-san.

I abruptly stopped and pushed him away from me. Hugging myself and facing away towards him, I heard his footsteps leaving the room. My heart turned to lead and my eyes wouldn't stop crying. What did I do? Why did I do that?

* * *

"Ohayo Sakuno-chan. Would you like some breakfast?" Rinko offered me some as I walked into the dining room. As expected, Ryoma didn't look my way.

"Hai, hai. Arigatou Rinko-sama." I thanked her for asking as I took my seat right next to Ryoma.

I slept in the living room last night very uncomfortably. Ryoma was avoiding me more than ever, and I barely got to even see a glimpse of him.

"Ohayo Ryoma-!"

Walking right by past me, Ryoma quickly ignored me and went over to the kitchen. I looked at my food regretful, and Rinko-sama looked at me.

"What exactly happened last night?" Rinko-sama dropped her utensils and asked.

"I… I betrayed Ryoma-sama." I put my head down as I cried loudly again.

Rinko-sama came to my side and handed me a handkerchief. "Wipe your tears Sakuno-chan. There's no reason to cry over this. Come on, let's go talk in the living room."

"I… I want to go home. I don't belong here with you, Nanjiroh-sama, or Ryoma-sama. I can't stand it in here. I want to leave." I argued.

"Sakuno-chan… If that's what you want… I'll get the maids to get you easily moved out of here."


	7. You've Caused Yourself A War, Good Job

**Hello mofos.**

**Well. You're probably angry.**

**But hey! \/ Down there, is a new chapter! Whoaa**

**My sorry present to you ~**

**Loovvveee yoouuu**

**(I'm sorry, I'm high on love right now- heunfsnvoewnbuew)**

* * *

"_Ryoma-sama, I love y-…!"_

Within the time of a heartbeat, Ryoma sprang up from his bed and gasped. Kicking off the covers, he lay slowly back down and wiped his sweaty forehead with his arm.

"Just a stupid dream" Ryoma cursed under his breath.

He looked all around his room. Where was…?

"She's not here anymore" Ryoma remembered as he felt as if ten pounds were thrown at his chest.

He slowly pulled off his shirt and threw it across the room. It was intended to be shot in a nearby clothes basket, but it only hung on the side.

All of a sudden, a knock came upon the door and Ryoma half-heartedly thought it was Sakuno. Unfortunately, it was not.

"Master Ryoma-sama? The Queen would like to speak with you" It was one of the maids, who smiled and bowed at Ryoma.

"Alright, tell her I'll be there in a minute" Ryoma's grouchy voice scared the maid away, closing the door in a snap.

* * *

"You wanted to see me?" Ryoma slammed the door open.

King Nanjiroh and Queen Rinko were waiting at the throne, angry and disappointed. Ryoma walked through the carpet that lead towards him and bowed.

"What are you doing Ryoma? Letting a good girl like that go to waste" Rinko scolded Ryoma, as what he thought she would do.

"Now we have no choice but to arrange a marriage with you and the nearby kingdom's princess. Are you happy now?" Nanjiroh glared at him.

"Go ahead. It's not like I wanted Ryuzaki in my life. You ARRANGED it remember?" Ryoma argued back.

"This is punishment. You know why we're doing this. Now leave before your father and I do something else horrible" Rinko dismissed Ryoma, who slammed the door behind him again.

* * *

"Sakuno" Sumire called with a croaked yet worried voice, "Sakuno."

Over and over again she called Sakuno's name, but Sakuno never answered. She was up in her attic/room, knees held together towards her body as she huddled in a corner.

"He felt sorry for me" Sakuno's hiccupped voice was shaky, "That's why he kissed me."

Rocking back and forth, Sakuno remembered every romantic moment she had Ryoma and cried it all away. Everything he did was only out of pity, and so Sakuno thought.

"Nii-san" Sakuno called out as she held up her head, "You didn't feel sorry for me, did you?"

Sakuno imagined his figure as he waved and smiled. When he reached out his hand to grab hers, he whisked away as he slipped through Sakuno's fingers.

All of a sudden, a knock came upon the Ryuzaki's door.

* * *

"Who are you? What are you doing at my house?" Sumire said with disgust.

"Good morning Former Advisor Sumire of Seigaku, May we have a word with your granddaughter Princess Ryuzaki?" One of the knights held up a scroll.

Sumire slowly took the scroll and rolled it out. "The Rikkaidai Kingdom's Prince Akaya Kirihara requests the presence of the Seigaku Kingdom's Princess Ryuzaki at the Rikkaidai Kingdom near midnight. We hope you are able to attend."

"All we need know is if Princess Ryuzaki belongs exclusively to Prince Ryoma Echizen of the Seigaku Kingdom" The other knight asked.

"My granddaughter does not belong to Ryoma Echizen and she never was. It was forced and it was one-sided" Sumire cursed under her breath.

"So, Princess Ryuzaki is no longer apart of Prince Ryoma Echizen's engagement?" The knight on the left raised an eyebrow.

"Practically speaking" Sumire shrugged.

Sumire handed back the scroll and the knight on the right gladly accepted it. "Good doing business with you Former Advisor. You know, we are still looking for an Advisor ourselves. Join us if you'd please" The knight on the left smiled.

"That'll be wonderful, but I choose not to. I just slipped into retirement so" Sumire smiled back.

"If you want, we can take Princess Ryuzaki now" The knight on the right asked.

Sumire looked back at the closed attic door. "I'm sorry, but right now is not a good time."

"We understand. See you at midnight Former Advisor" The knights waved goodbye.

"Please, call me Sumire" Sumire waved goodbye as well.

As she closed the door, she went back to the closed attic door. "Sakuno dear, are you alright?"

"Who was that at the door?" Sakuno managed to say through.

Sumire smiled that she finally responded. "The Rikkaidai Kingdom guards were sent here to request your presence for one of the Prince. Will you accept?"

"Rikkai…dai?" Sakuno's head started aching with the name… Why that was named so familiar?

Nii-san.

Sakuno gasped and jumped out of her corner. "Why did I think of Nii-san?"

* * *

"Prince Ryoma-sama, your new fiancé is here" The maid peeked into his room and reminded.

"Bring her in my room" Ryoma ordered.

"Hello there Prince Ryoma" A petite curved figure came walking in with long auburn hair with a British accent.

She was wearing the same dress Sakuno wore when she met him, but it was sliced. She looked just like Sakuno… but a little, sexier.

Her long auburn hair flowed behind her shoulders. "My name is Princess Sakura, but hey you can call me whatever you want."

Ryoma, on the other hand, was irritated. All of the girls are the same- they just wanted to get into his pants.

"Anyways, I heard about the scandal. Talk about Cinderella, huh? Did you feel pity for her or are we talking real love?" Sakura sat on a chair across him and crossed her leg.

"Wait, so you don't want to have-…?"

"Oh goodness no, who do you think I am exactly?" Sakura chuckled evilly.

"What kingdom are you from again?" Ryoma asked.

"The Kingdom of Rikkaidai sent me here of course. And I believe you've just caused yourself a war Ryoma-sama" Sakura smirked while grabbing onto the teacup full of hot green tea.

"What do you mean by that?" Ryoma stood up in confusion.

"What were you thinking, playing around with Rikkaidai's number one Prince's girl? Now you've really done it." Sakura chuckled as she took a sip.


	8. A Rose In A Dandelion Field

**Hello there~!**

**How long has it been... 2 months?**

**I'm sorry. I apologize since I am in the 8th grade going on to 9th and there is a lot of things going on in order to reach high school.**

**In this chapter, I really tried to make you guys NOT hate Sakura. She is not all horrible, she's hired. It's not like I don't hate her though, she better not be serious to marry Ryoma.**

**However, by this point you should've figured out Nii-san. I tried to make it like you pity Nii-san, not hate him.**

**Thinking I might not update until 2 months, please keep following and keeping your hopes up.**

**I've let you down everyday you check. But hey, everyone's busy right?**

**Summer's near! More time = More updating.**

**This is kind of long. Go ahead and read.**

* * *

"E-Eto… Sakuno-sama?" A girl with dark brown fat twin braids in a black and white lacy maid outfit tried to wake Sakuno up.

Regaining consciousness, Sakuno found herself lying on her stomach. Pulling herself up with her arms, she was dripping with sweat. "Wh-Where am I?"

"I apologize if it's hot in here hime. It took a while to make something summer appropriate." The maid held up a small orange jumper dress.

Sakuno, still in her long, sleeved fuchsia dress, stared intensely at the maid. "Where am I?" She asked again.

"I'm afraid I'm ordered not to tell you. Please dress appropriately for the prince wishes to meet you outside." The maid bowed to Sakuno and left, closing the wooden double doors with golden doorknobs behind her.

"Ordered not to tell me?" Sakuno asked, swinging her legs from the bed to the wooden plank floors.

Even if she didn't know where she was, Sakuno thought the room she was in was magnificent. The walls were beige white and the huge window on the right side was letting in sunlight to brighten the room. A small king sized stood in the middle upper part of the room, and the wooden doors were on the opposite side.

Changing from her dress to the jumper dress, Sakuno followed the maid's orders and let herself outside.

* * *

Walking out of the stone archway, Sakuno entered a bed full of dandelions. A white clean fence was surrounding the dandelions, and in the center was a white stone umbrella hovering over a table.

A dark red figure was sitting in the crystal chairs sipping on a cup of tea. Assuming he's the prince that maid was talking about, Sakuno kept her chin high and slowly walked towards the character.

"It's nice to see you again all grown up." The crimson figure with messy dark emerald smiled. He had a black mask on his eyes, covering his identity.

"A-Ano?!" Sakuno squinted to see who it was across the table.

Every second, the crimson figure began to look more and more like...

"How could you forget your own Nii-san?" The crimson figure revealed himself, taking off the dark.

The wind blew right as Sakuno widened her eyes. Prince Akaya Kirihara was Nii-san.

"A-Akaya-sama-..."

"What's with the formality Sa-chan? It's the old Nii-san from before" Akaya stood up from his chair and gestured himself.

Silence grew between Sakuno and Akaya as Sakuno did not believe Akaya's weird nature was the kind Nii-san.

"Well, aren't you going to take a seat?" Akaya asked politely and pointed at the crystal chair across from him.

Reluctant to sit, Sakuno slowly slid into the seat. "Why did you kidnap me here? Where is Obaa-san? Are you really-...?"

"You know," Akaya interrupted, "They say there's a rose in this dandelion garden. Would you help me find it Sa-chan?"

Sakuno's bead dropped when she realized Akaya wasn't listening. Before she knew it, Akaya was out of his seat and next to her asking for her hand. Taking it, Akaya and Sakuno began strolling around the bed of dandelions underneath the bright sun.

"So this is the Nationals Kingdom?" Sakuno asked curiously, already knowing the answer.

Akaya knelt down in front of Sakuno and picked an unripened dandelion, not ready to bloom yet. "You must have heard we make the laws of these lands."

Sakuno stayed silent. She didn't know whether to tell him that she believed them or not.

"And your probably angry I didn't tell you I was a prince too." Akaya continued on, his cliche smirk disappearing.

"Akaya-sa-... Nii-san, why didn't you tell me?" Sakuno asked, leaning closer to Akaya.

"You hated the kingdoms and what they did to you. You would've probably hated me if-..."

"But those laws were yours right? You told me you hated them and you made me hate them too. I didn't even think about my hatred towards the kingdom before you came along. You wanted me to hate Seigaku." Sakuno explained her deepest heart.

"All of that was true... A man is foolish, huh? To lie to the woman he loves the most in this world just to make her not hate him..." Akaya placed the picked dandelion on the dirt.

Instead of feeling betrayed by him, Sakuno felt pity towards the prince. She put her frail hands on his shoulder and knelt right next to him. Searching for that rose, Sakuno looked really close.

"Let's look for that rose shall we?" Sakuno smiled at the weak hearted prince Akaya, who replied smiling.

"Sa-chan... I-..."

"I wonder why that rose grew where it was not supposed to be grown. It must have felt alone and separated. That rose thought that it would be hated so probably it pretended to be different." Sakuno explained. "However only it's design is different. The rose grew with a stem and a body right? It grew since it was seed and ended up like everyone else right? That rose fills your lines completely."

Akaya stayed silent and blushed slightly, gazing at Sakuno. "No wonder the prince fell for you Sakuno-hime."

"Ryoma-sama? There's no way he could fall for a peasant like me... All of that stuff he did was out of pity." Sakuno continued the search.

* * *

"So Sakuno is the Rikkaidai's prince's fiancee?" Ryoma asked.

Sakura nodded. "Don't worry, I'm really not going to marry you. I'm only aiding Akaya-sama at this point." Sakura put her hand up.

"Still not seeing the problem." Ryoma stood up from his chair, heading to the door.

"The battle for the Nationals Kingdom is coming. Rikkaidai does not expect you to go easy, but do not underestimate them either. Princess Sakuno-sama is more known than you thought she is." Sakura warned.

Without saying in another word, Ryoma slammed the door behind him. Sakura chuckled, taking off her dress to reveal a spy outfit. "Playing princess is so stupid if the prince doesn't even know he's jealous."

Heading out the window, Sakura jumped from level two the field of grass.

* * *

Walking furiously out of the kingdom, Ryoma hopped in one of the horse carriages and left to the village. On the ride there, Ryoma began thinking why Sakuno pushed him away after they kissed. Touching his lips with his soft fingertips, he remembered her cold lips that felt good on his warm ones.

It was probably that Nii-san she kept babbling on about whenever he went to the village. Even from the start he already knew that Nii-san was none other than Akaya Kirihara.

But why didn't he tell her? He would've ruined his place in her heart and Ryoma could've been the one holding that place instead. But... He was Sakuno's dream guy.

Ryoma sighed. Why does he even care about this one girl anyways? There was more like her, but why was she so important? She was annoying to him, always never leaving his side when he wants to be alone. She never gave up on him, even though she liked someone else.

Ryoma clenched his chest. "I'm going to have to get her back... Don't I...?"

* * *

**As you can see, Ryoma's feelings for Sakuno are SLOWLY growing. He doesn't realize he likes her... You know that feeling where you can't have her but you must see her?**

**I've recently watched the anime Romeo X Juliet (amazing by the way) and I felt so many feelings of the distant, forbidden love. It's going to be sad and dramatic but it's worth a try. **


	9. I Need to Find My Nee-san

**Summer is finally here! But why do I feel so sad?!**

**Naw, I just ended my eighth grade year and boy am I gonna miss being on the top of the school chain.**

**Anyways, MORE TIME TO WRITE YEAH!**

**I've got this whole storyline in my head and I am so EFFING EXCITED :DDDDDD**

**Recently I just had one of those "mind blown" moments where I need to make more RyoSaku oneshots than I had too and more of those extra chapters that I like to make so much :DDDDDD**

**HAPPY!**

**Enjoy and review please!**

* * *

"I feel so nostalgic when I'm with you, Sa-chan. All of those precious memories of fishing and hunting for the village are slowly coming back" Akaya chuckled as he took a sip of tea.

Sakuno stayed quiet and just smiled. She never would've guessed the kind-hearted Nii-san was none other than the Rikkaidai Kingdom's prince, Akaya Kirihara. From running away from the cold atmosphere of the Seigaku Kingdom to the warm welcoming air of Rikkaidai, Sakuno was still in a pretty shocked state.

"Akaya-kun… I've got to go back." Sakuno put down her cup of tea and stared into Akaya's green sparkling eyes.

"You have to go back to him, right…? Am I wrong?" Kirihara's messy green hair covered his eyes from seeing Sakuno's willful face.

Sakuno stayed silent. Ryoma hasn't even crossed her mind ever since she arrived here. It's not like Sakuno belongs exclusively to Ryoma, and Sakuno was still harboring guilt towards him.

"I just want to go back to the village. Is that so wrong?" Sakuno asked, looking at him with her saddened chocolate eyes.

All of a sudden, Kirihara reached forward and grabbed her small porcelain wrists, holding it tightly. Sakuno was stunned, looking straight into Kirihara's serious face.

He turned red a little bit, but still kept a straight serious face. "Sakuno, I am in love with you. Stay with me and marry me."

Sakuno turned as red as a tomato and was flustered, letting go of his grasps. "A- A- Akaya- kun… Marriage isn't something to fall into that easily and plus we're still too young and-…"

"Have you already fallen in love with that man?"

Sakuno straightened up; her heart breaking a little by looking at Kirihara's disappointing, but wanting face. She looked away angry, still blushing madly. "I'm not in love with Ryoma." With that statement, her faced calmed down to a sad guilty face. "In fact, I think he hates my guts for betraying him so hard."

Saying nothing in return, Akaya Kirihara stood straight up. "In that case, I don't think you're within a choice to love me or not. I… I understand. However, I won't wait for long Sa-chan. If you ever become mine, I'll keep you forever."

Akaya Kirihara walked away without saying another word, walking right past Sakuno and gracefully rushing back inside the kingdom. Sakuno just sat there, silent and deep in thought.

"Have you already fallen in love with that man?"

Sakuno turned back into a tomato after replaying those words into her head. Trying to get the thought out of her head, she shook her head and gave a huge sigh. "Ryoma cares more about his shoes more than me.

"Sakuno!"

Sakuno's body shivered from the calling of her name. She turned, only to find Ryoma on a brown stallion galloping towards her. He was in the white prince suit she found so attracted to but it looked wrinkly. His stallion neighed and sneezed, which made Sakuno chuckle at her limits.

"Why are you laughing?" Ryoma asked, irritated that she would laugh at his get-up.

After chuckling for a short amount of time, Sakuno bounced back to reality and asked, "Why are you here? How did you find me?"

Ryoma didn't know what to say. After all, he just came back from the village and was irritated at the amount of speed his carriage was going. He just abandoned that carriage, steal the stallion, and came galloping here with not much thought process. Ryoma stared at her blankly, but obviously he knew what he had to say. He wanted her to come back and show that Sakuno was still his fiancée and cancel whatever his parents discussed.

Sakuno grew tired of the silence and sat up from her chair. Startled, Ryoma and the stallion took a step back, ready for Sakuno's immense anger for trailing her.

To his surprise, Sakuno looked at him with happy and joyful, but teary eyes. "Ryoma-sama, I'm sorry I pushed you away. I didn't mean too. I'm glad you've come back for me. I thought you really hated me."

Biting his lower lip, Ryoma offered a hand to the hiccupping girl. "Do you want to ride it off?"

Looking shocked at the prince's help, Sakuno took the hand and he lifted her up the horse where she sat legs to the side on the back of Ryoma. Ryoma galloped on, riding slowly as Sakuno clenched to his back.

"Look, I can understand you're still hung up on this Nii-san guy and I can-…"

"Hey Ryoma-sama?"

"Hn?"

"I think I can lay off the whole Nii-san problem if you do."

Ryoma quickly shut up. That was not the apology he hoped to be given, but he gave it a shot and rode on.

* * *

From the cracks of the Rikkaidai kingdom, Prince Akaya stared at the couple's reunion with anger. For them to make up so easily is nothing but preposterous to Akaya, and now he wanted to break them up so badly that Sakuno will no longer fall in Ryoma's arms.

"I pity your heart Ryoma. But I'm afraid you've crossed the line by taking Sakuno away from me." Akaya's eyes grew weary.

"Master Akaya-sama, are you plotting something?" One of the old man butlers came in with a towel hung by his left arm.

Prince Akaya turned to the stone bricked walls that were covered by bookshelves. "I feel as if I plot something, Sakuno will hate me forever."

"Then Master I suggest letting it flow. Their relationship shall destroy itself somehow." The butler walked closer.

* * *

"It's getting kind of late Ryoma-sama, why don't we go back to the kingdom already?" Sakuno asked.

Ryoma fell into a deep silence. He has absolutely no idea where he is.

"I, uh… See a village up a head," Ryoma thanked his luck as he saw a nearby light with settlement below. "I think we should rest up over there. Leave the drama to my parents for a while."

Sakuno nodded, agreeing that if she did come home then Obaa-san would scold her for disappearing practically the whole day. Besides, staying at a village is nice. It's new, and Sakuno will probably learn something new out of the villagers.

As Ryoma came across the opening of the huge wall guarding the village, Sakuno pushed herself off the bridge.

"It's Lady Sakuno! Daughter of the Ryuzaki's!" One of the guards shouted from the left ledge of the stone wall.

"Open the gate! Welcome them in!" The other guard from the right called.

The wooden gate lifted itself up and revealed an opening, letting Ryoma and Sakuno to walk towards the settlements. As soon as Sakuno crossed the wall borderline, many greeted her with food offerings and other gifted items. Ryoma, on the other hand, was a little grouchy they noticed Sakuno but not the Prince of the Seigaku Kingdom.

"Please accept this guest house Lady Ryuzaki!" An old woman with a bandana on her head showed her a little straw hut with a fire glowing in the middle and two beds on the two sides.

"E-Eto… Arigatou Obaa-san, oyasuminasai!" Sakuno pushed the crowd away, but they still left the offerings around her hut. There was so much offerings it covered the straw hut's door, which irritated Ryoma some more.

With a sigh, Ryoma sat close from the fire. He put his hands around it for warmth, for he has been riding in the night for quite a while. Sakuno took a large piece of bread offering from one of the baskets and broke it in half. Halfling it horribly, she gave the biggest piece to Ryoma in defeat.

Ryoma took a bite. "Why are you so known throughout the villages?"

Sakuno sighed in exhaustion. "Otou-san and Okaa-san traveled a lot when I was young, they did more than I could ever do for my village. They've hunted for villages everywhere, illegal or not."

"How did they… pass?" Ryoma had the guts to ask.

"They've gone where I should've been a long time ago. Exiled and killed." Sakuno said with bravery throughout her words, but her body was shaking.

Pulling her close, Ryoma let her lean her head on his shoulder. "At least your dad didn't eat on his throne."

With that random comment, Sakuno chuckled. "I guess you're right. Oyasuminasai, Ryoma-sama."

"Night."

* * *

"A-Ano, are you awake?" A small girl's voice crept into Sakuno's ears.

"Ha-Hai. E-Eto, who are you?" Sakuno asked.

"A-Ah! Gomen nasai! My name is Shikotsu, and the prince told me to tell you he'll be back for you he just had to wash his pony!" The black haired little girl bowed up and down to apologize.

Sakuno rubbed her head and calmed her down. "No need to apologize. Are you apart of this village?"

Shikotsu turned dark. "E-Eto, I am a runaway."

"Wha-…? Wait, what?!" Sakuno panicked. "We have to find your parents! We have to find your way back home! Your mommy must be worried sick about you! Wah!"

"My parents are dead and my village was under attack. I was forced to leave. This village took me in but I have to keep going and find my sister." Shikotsu explained, trying to prevent Sakuno from panicking any louder.

"It's not safe to roam around through villages and in between. You could get killed out there by the guards. Either you're in our out of safe lines you are being watched." Sakuno warned Shikotsu.

"Then, may I travel with you?"

* * *

**Should Shikotsu travel with Sakuno? Or is it just trouble waiting to happen? Review what you think!**


	10. I Will Be Your Nii-chan 3 !

**Hey there!**

**WHOA LAUREN UPDATED QUICKLY. WHAT IS THIS SORCERY-...**

**Naw, I'm just too excited for the big CLIMAXXXXXXXXXXX.**

**Erm. Anyways, I think I'm going to respond to the reviewers cause I feel I want too. Deal? Naw, if you just want to read the lousy story; GO AHEAD :D!**

**To those who want to look at my replies, you shall frown or smile upon them.**

**AlietaOfTheWolves: God. My cousin was fresh out of high school and I think he's going to relive his experiences on me. XD I honestly hope high school doesn't rip my friends apart. And I hope I can keep up my A+'s. I really do.**

**michelle88222: You've read this story through thick and thin, huh? YEAH I'VE UPDATED *HIGH FIVE* AND NO AKAYA SHALL BE THE ONE HUNTED ^U^**

**SaKuRiMoOn: HAHAHAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA MATERNAL. INSTINCTS. THAT made my day. Thanks, your review made me reconsider. I was going to let Shikotsu find her way and then the big climax but hey? Ryoma and Sakuno's parenting skills gotta be kept to a set!  
**

**CredulousVampire: Did... did the famous Kuroko no Basuke fanfiction writer with 194 reviews just review my story? HAHA WHAT. GIRL I AM HONORED THIS ONE STORY CHANGED YOUR VIEW. **

**Alright. I think I made my points. Please review and I'll answer \(^o^)/**

* * *

Sakuno turned silent as she was asked the question to watch over the child. "Gomen nasai, Shikotsu, was it? Ryoma and I are still at the age where we cannot even handle ourselves. To take care of a child…"

"You won't have to take care of me! All you have to do is help me find my sister!" Shikotsu protested, refusing to be taken care of like a baby.

Sakuno sighed as she figured that if she was dealing with a child like this, becoming stubborn is natural. However, to accept such an offer… And what would Ryoma or Obaa-san? It would be too much. Plus the attention Ryoma and Sakuno would get by bringing a child?! The rumors and the future fantasies made turn Sakuno red.

Sakuno breathed back to normal. "Do you at least have a picture of your sister?" Sakuno asked, seeing if she could recognize the character without having to search for long.

Shikotsu remained useless. "E-Eto, I may not have a picture, but my mother and father told me she lived in an old village. Also, Father once told me he had father's eyes and mother's resemblance." Shikotsu twirled her thumbs around innocently.

"Do you at least have any leads?" Sakuno asked, hoping for an answer.

Shikotsu shook her head. "I had no other relatives that I've known of."

Sakuno turned silent. This girl really had nothing. It was a good thing that this village took her in… That's the way Sakuno found the village, but at least she had Obaa-san. Growing up, Sakuno felt confusion and pain. She didn't want anyone to suffer like that, and if they did… Sakuno wanted to save them.

"Your father and mother… How'd they pass?"

"They were survivors. They survived, but they helped those who needed to survive more. The mistake they made was that they had me, and they made me run away while they protected the people."

With a little hesitation, Sakuno kind of slipped into sympathy and empathy for the girl. She lost her parents too, but Sakuno didn't want Shikotsu to end up like Sakuno… and Shikotsu doesn't have an Obaa-san like Sakuno does.

"Alright," Sakuno agreed, "You can come with us and live with us until we can find your sister. But from here on out, you do what I say. Agreed?"

Shikotsu quickly nodded her head in happiness. "When are we going to get out of here?!"

Sakuno patted Shikotsu's black haired head. "Calm down, Shi-chan. As soon as Ryoma puts all the food on the stallion, let's see where we'll go."

All of a sudden, a neigh was heard outside and Ryoma walked inside. "Hey Sakuno, are you ready to-…" Ryoma noticed the little girl whom he told to tell Sakuno where he was before. "Why are you still here?"

Shikotsu stayed quiet while Sakuno explained, "Listen, Ryoma-sama? This girl, Shikotsu, lost her parents due to a village attack and now we're going to help her find her sister."

"We? What makes you think I'm going to look for a child's sister?" Ryoma refused, angering Shikotsu a little for calling her a child.

"What? Is the famous prince of Seigaku scared of a little challenge?" Shikotsu smirked at Ryoma, coaxing him to agree.

"N-Now, Shi-chan-…"

"I just don't want to take care of a kid, alright?" Ryoma argued.

"Oh, right. It's because you don't want Sakuno to take care of another brat?" Shikotsu teased.

"And who's the other brat?"

"Ryoma!" Sakuno stopped the fight. "Look, this girl lost her parents like I did. She doesn't have anybody to take care of her right now and her sister is her only option! Now if you like it or not, we are taking care of her until she finds her sister."

Ryoma turned silent in response to Sakuno's remark. What if we brought this girl home? What would that baka Oyaji think? He would start giving Ryoma "the talk." But to argue with Sakuno right after they reunited, it would risk just too much. Defeated, he sighed and said, "If the brat gets us in trouble, she's out."

Sakuno smiled in glee while Shikotsu was somewhat satisfied with the deal. Crawling out of the hut, Sakuno, Ryoma, and Shikotsu escaped the village without having to deal with such long goodbyes to "Lady Sakuno." Continuing on and following the sandy trail, Ryoma was sort of irritated that _he_ is the one walking while Shikotsu took his spot in front of Sakuno. Ryoma on the right hand of things was holding the stallion at level.

"Ne, Sakuno-nee. I'm feeling kind of thirsty" Shikotsu complained of her thirst.

"Wait, Shi-chan. We're almost at the kingdom." Sakuno tried to stall Shikotsu's thirst.

Ryoma was now at the top of his level with these stupid and petty small talks. First of all, why is the kid sitting when Ryoma let her on the ride? The kid should be walking while Ryoma controlling the horse and-…

"E-Eto, Ryoma-sama?"

"Hn?" Ryoma woke up from his dialogue.

"A-Arigatou, you know, for taking Shi-chan in. Her situation…" Sakuno whispered as she took a long look at Shikotsu, who was petting the stallion while it neighed happily.

"It's okay, it's like you anyway. You easily trust people, feel pity towards them, and help them even if they're the worst thugs out there. Not to mention, you're clumsy and so quick to make choices with not much thought process and-…"

'_It feels like he's scolding me. I expected this to come anyways.' _Sakuno thought.

"But then again," Ryoma kept a straight face. "I guess that's the best part about you."

Sakuno blushed and panicked. "A-Ano? Ryoma-sama, sometimes you say the most random things and I can't even comprehend or not even understand-!"

'_Che. Is she panicking again?'_ Ryoma thought amusingly, looking ahead with a straight face.

"Hey Sakuno-nee, I think I see the kingdom!" Shikotsu pointed a green flag with yellow stripes that were inverted to a sided V.

Ryoma stopped to look at that flag waving among the skies very slowly. Recognizing that flag, he realized they were already deep into their territory: The Yamabuki Kingdom territory.

"Ya-Yamabuki?!" Sakuno suddenly recognized the flag. "E-Eto, Ryoma-sama! We need to get out of here-!..."

"What's the rush?" A man with bright red hair and green eyes smiled at them in the middle of the sandy trail. Being surrounded by trees, groups of soldiers revealed themselves by moving either left or right from the trees. Ryoma and the group stepped back, ready to run if they made one move.

"Welcome to the Yamabuki Kingdom desu," greeted a boy who walked behind the bright red haired man. The boy wore a green head band under his navy blue hair, but the head band slumped to his brown eyes. He wore a dark green toga under an unknown shirt, baggy brown pants, and old hunting boots, but it didn't seem much old…

"Long time no see, Prince of Seigaku. Tell me, how's being an actual pillar of it?" The man with bright red hair teased Ryoma, walking closer to him. The bright red haired one wear a toga too, but it was rich green and it was long, not revealing the clothes.

"Hey, Sengoku-senpai. I could say the same to you but then again…" Ryoma stayed by Sakuno and Shikotsu.

"Ouch, you're sly as ever Prince-chibi." Sengoku finally reached Ryoma and messed up his dark emerald hair playfully.

The boy reached the girls. "Hajimemashite, watashi no namae wa Dan Taiichi desu," Dan introduced himself to the girls as he bowed in politeness.

"E-Eto, it's nice to meet you too Dan-kun. My name is Sakuno Ryuzaki and this is Shi-chan." Sakuno introduced herself as she was getting off the stallion and tried to help Shikotsu as well.

Sengoku whistled. "Prince-chibi! When did you start pulling yourself down with such a pretty girl ka?"

Sakuno blushed while Ryoma sighed. "She's my fiancée."

Sengoku's eyes widened and Dan came out of nowhere with a sign that said,_ Newly Weds_. "A-Ano? Did I just here that out of Prince-chibi's mouth? Who would've thought the sly playboy Prince-chibi would tie himself to one girl!" Sengoku teased him again.

"And when you're still young you guys still had a child ka?" Dan pointed at Shikotsu.

The comment caused Sakuno to turn into a blushing ghost and Ryoma getting more irritated. They both knew they would get into some mishaps and misunderstandings with holding such a young child like Shikotsu. Shikotsu, who wasn't affected by any of this, explained, "No, I'm just accompanying them on their journey to find my sister."

"Finding your Nee-chan? I could be your Nii-chan!" Sengoku teased little Shikotsu, which caused Ryoma to turn green and sick and Sakuno red.

"Sengoku-senpai! She's just a little girl desu!" Dan scolded.

Sengoku laughed playfully and stuck his tongue out at Dan. "I'm just playing that's all."


End file.
